Kirk Herbstreit: Jacory Harris Is Going Through A Progression

November 19, 2009|Posted by Joe Rose on November 19, 2009 01:43 PM

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said on his weekly appearance on our show to be patient with Miami Hurricanes quarterback Jacory Harris.

"It's called natural progression of a young quarterback and, hopefully, he learns from these lessons that's costing his team victories," Herbstreit said. "If he learns from them, it's only going to make him and his offense more consistent -- not just this year, but more importantly when he comes back to have a big year his junior year. And I think he will. He cares about it, and that's important. He'll continue to get better, but these decisions that he's making are definitely costly."

Herbstreit also reminded our listeners that this is Harris' first full season as a starter after splitting reps with Robert Marve last season.

"When I look at his numbers -- the Clemson game I think he had three picks and against North Carolina he had four. Those are examples where a young quarterback is trying to do too much. He's going to have to live and learn the hard way like every other quarterback who plays early in his career that you're better off throwing it away, finding you're check-down with a running back, let a running back catch a two-yard pass and run for six, seven or eight yards. He'll get there. It's not Mark Whipple's fault, it's not Jacory Harris' fault. It's called natural progression of a young quarterback.

"The thing with young quarterbacks, especially after a great start like Jacory had, they think every throw has to be perfect. They think that every throw has to be a home run and that they're going to make a play on every throw. They really tend to force the issue."